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I know that I say it every year but; I cannot believe that another year has already gone by! Time has just been flying by and I have been so busy lately that I almost missed it but luckily I noticed it on the calendar just in time.
This last year certainly has been filled with a lot of tasty new food! I have continued to enjoy exploring new foods, cuisines and cooking techniques while not forgetting about old favourites. Where ever do I get the time for all of these recipes?

Over this last year I have had the chance to meet a lot of great new friends both online and in the real world. I had a blast attending and meeting so many amazing people at the International Food Bloggers Conference this year and I am looking forward to attending more of such events in the future.

Closet Cooking has also seen some changes over the last year including moving from blogspot to it's own domain closetcooking.com which was wonderful to finally realize! I also managed to add some social media 'follow' buttons to the site and some social media 'share' buttons to the posts. I was even able to finally figure a way to add a recipe index which I had been wanting to do for a long time. More recently I have been working on improving my recipe format including adding cooking times and using the hrecipe format.

Year four also saw Closet Cooking move into the modern age by getting on both Twitter and Facebook! It was a long time in coming and although I am still figuring out how to use them, I am glad to be on them as it has bee a lot of fun.

One thing that I like about a blog birthday is that I am reminded to take the time to go back and look over the past year to remember where I am coming from and what I have done. I went through all of my post from year three and I will leave you with some of my favourites:

This year saw me experiment a bit with my food photography and this Yogurt Panna Cotta with Strawberry Jelly is definitely one that I remember fondly. In it, I played with shallow depth of focus, light and composition.

This was the year that I discovered the banh mi and my first experience with a banh mi was with Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp Banh Mi which is an amazing blend of flavours and textures that just daces in your mouth!

I had never even thought about a savoury cheesecake before this Gorgonzola Cheesecake but now I am undeniably hooked. It's amazing how baking cheese brings out its flavour and those crispy bits along the outside are the best parts!

Lets not forget about snacking! This Greek 7 Layer Dip, a Greek take on the classic 7 Layer Dip not only tastes great but it is pretty healthy to boot!

Next up were these Jiaozi (Chinese Dumplings) which in addition to being addictively good, are surprisingly easy to make at home once you get the hang of it and I even made my own wrappers!

More recently I tried a new chocolate cheesecake with Guinness in it and this Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake was was definitely the best cheesecake that I have had in a long while!

As you all know, I am a huge fan of grilled cheese sandwiches and this Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich has to be my crowning achievement with respect to grilled cheese sandwiches so far! The the heat of the tender roasted jalapenos is tempered by the gooey melted cream cheese and the stringy jack and cheddar and the crumbled tortilla chips add a bit of crunch.

Yum yum yum! I absolutely LOVE your blog and your photos are beautiful and look mouthwateringly delicious. Congrats on continuing to evolve and for experimenting so much in the kitchen and sharing it with the rest of us!

I am usually a silent reader of your wonderful posts.I am from overseas and am very glad to congratulate you for the 4Th Blogbirthday.You are an amazing and very inventive cook and it gives me a great pleasure to read your posts and try some of your recipes.Keep going on and be happy and successful.

Happy Blog Birthday Kevin! One thing for sure, your photography skills have dramatically evolved over the years.

I just love, love, love your photos and always look forward to your new posts.

Yours is one of the first blogs that I started to follow and to this day, remains a constant source of inspiration for me, one of my favorite destinations for beautiful photos as well as mouthwatering recipes.

Happy birthday to Closet Cooking!Kevin, I admire your blog above all others I read (there's a LOT!). You were the first to inspire me to start a food blog, as well as inspire me to try new and exciting foods. Whenever I'm in need of inspiration for a new recipe, I always come to you first! You've come so far, and you have done an amazing job. I very much look forward to the delicious and creative recipes you'll bring in the next year. :)

I just stumbled upon your website yesterday, and I wanted to say I just love it. Your recipes look fantastic, you take great photos, and I enjoy very much your writing style! Keep up the great work, and I look forward to trying more of your recipes. The spinach and artichoke dip turned out great and I ate half of it for dinner. MmmmmmMmm.

Congratulations! I love, love, love your blog! I came across it a few months ago looking for a more interesting grilled cheese sandwich than my standby cheddar on wheat and have been reading ever since. I've enjoyed many more recipes too. Thanks!

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.